Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Hilleberg Bivanorak

thinking about getting one to replace my raincoat,and bivy bag.Anyone have experience using one of these as a stand alone piece for a rain coat ?
When you use it as a bivy,can you enter it through the top opening ?(like a regular bivy bag )or do you need to get into your bag than pull the anorak over the top of you like a T shirt ?
Tim

I spent some time fascinated by this peice of gear.. had a freind when we were kids that had a military surplus bivvy that operated similarly.. found a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuCYu-R-uNU

Looks like you can load it with you bedding and get in since the neck/chest opens up fairly deeply??

Curious too if anyone on here has tried this.

Good Evening Tim,

My name is Dale and I work at High Mountain Outfitters in Eagle, Idaho. The Hilleberg Bivanorak works well as a bivy bag, sleeping bag cover, rain garment, portable wind break or emergency shelter.
It has a long front zipper that you can easily slide your sleeping bag into for easy access.
It has adjustments at the bottom to raise and lower for use as a rain coat.
I hope this has helped with your questions.
You can read more about it at www.high-mountain-outfitters.com Go to Hunting Gear, click on Hunting Tents, Click on Hilleberg Shelters, Click on Hilleberg Bivanorak.
Or call us at 208-939-7777.

Best Regards,
Dale

May have to go on my Christmas list
Tim
by the way that utube video shown above is pretty interesting even though its in Swedish

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at High Mountain Outfitters.

Looks like a piece of gear that is a compromise in every conceivable way.

Good on paper though...

Nothing more than an updated cagoule, and item that was a part of every alpine climber's kit..pre goretex. Looks like it would work well with Feathered Friends Wren type bags.

The Packa mode looked a bit cumbersome, and unlike a Packa, you can't just slip out of it and leave it on the pack.

The compromise point is a good one. The more functions you try to give something the less it performs any of them well.. kinda why I shied away from them. Still neat-o though eh?

I own a Bivanorak and have used it extensively for a few years now as my "go to" bivy. It is a central part of my backcountry kit. Far from appearing to be a "compromise in every conceivable way", it is an exceptionally well thought refinement to the typical one dimensional bivy sac that merely serves to keep one's bag out of the elements...and very little else.

I was once again reminded of how much I like the Bivanorak while on a whitetail hunt a couple weekends ago. It was cold and snowing to beat hell, but I was appropriately layered up and securely ensconced inside it while lounging on top of a closed cell foam pad on two and a half feet of snow, rifle at the ready, while keeping an eye on a good sized clear cut from my vantage point. I had lounged there for a few hours, perfectly content and perfectly sheltered from the blowing snow while having full use of my arms and hands and could easily look around, while the snow continued to pile up. All of my clothing was perfectly dry.

Eventually a nice little 4x5 ghosted out of the woodline in hot pursuit of some does that were jogging across the cut about a hundred twentyfivish yards below me and I promptly introduced him to my Kimber & Barnes combo, with the typically reliable results. Once I was satisfied that he wasn't going to spring back to life and try and pull a disappearing act, I pulled up the bottom of the Bivanorak, walked to the edge of the cut to retrieve my pack and stowed my unnecessary layers for the haul-out. Nice to have everything dry and free of the wet snow and ice that would have otherwise caked my clothing and had to have spent time and energy drying later.

Bottom line...I prefer to wear "normal" rain gear while moving, but the Bivanorak is a an absolutely great piece of multi-function kit.

Allen